Fewer visit Hong Kong during holiday as more opt for Taiwan

Some other travel agencies forecast the next peak period to Taiwan will come during the Dragon Boat Festival in June. Seasonally the price is relatively low.

The attraction of Hong Kong, the traditional destination for mainland travelers, is fading.

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Statistics from the Immigration department of Hong Kong show that in the first day of the holiday in May, the number of mainland travelers was only 142,505 individual trips, down 11.88 percent compared with the same day last year.

During the whole three-day holiday, 388,070 mainland travelers visited Hong Kong, down from 394,476 the previous year. That may be due to an online video of a fight between several Hong Kong residents and a mainland couple whose child urinated in public at a crowded commercial area on April 15.

Some Hong Kong residents complained about travelers from the mainland taking over tourism areas in the city. Some mainlanders said they would boycott Hong Kong.

Hong Kong remains an important destination for mainland outbound tourism because of the convenient visa process and transport.

"Among the destinations in greater China, Hong Kong is still top," a manager from a domestic travel agency, who declined to be named, said.

The absolute number visiting Hong Kong remains much higher than other regions, he said.

Hong Kong is still one of the most popular destinations during May Day, the National Tourism Administration said.